Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Review: Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog

The Short of It:Fairy Tale is a fun, light read about fairies, relationships and how the future can change when the person you love the most learns the truth about themselves. A perfect read for those looking for a fairy book that takes place in a contemporary, suburban setting.

The Long of It:

Morgan and Cam have been best friends practically since birth (they were born on the same day), they live next door to each other, and have been dating since before it was cool to have a boyfriend or girlfriend. Cam is the star quarterback who "can do anything" and Morgan, the psychic who tells classmates their futures. They have been planning a joint 16th birthday party for months, but suddenly Cam starts acting distant, then his "cousin" Pip comes to stay and Morgan learns that Cam is a fairy. Morgan desperately wants to hold on to Cam, but what (or who) is she willing to sacrifice to make it happen?

Fairy Tale was a fun quick read, I read it in one sitting because I had to know what what would happen between Morgan and Cam. Told from Morgan's point of view, you can really see just how much she is affected by what is going on with Cam. I found Morgan to be very relatable (despite her psychic ability) as a character. Maybe it was her Italian mother with the cooking and feeding everyone that reminded me of my own mother and aunts (because I mean what other book has sfogliatelle in it?), that made me feel like Morgan was very real. Also, she didn't just sit back and accept that things were falling apart, she tried to find ways to fix Cam's predicament.

I also really liked Morgan's interactions with Pip, from plying him with Taco Bell and Mountain Dew to get information about the fairies, to being his stylist, to realizing that just maybe there was a bit more to him that the awkward boy with the pencil case. Watching their relationship grow and change was my favorite part of the book. It was also interesting to see that while Morgan (and everyone else) got to know Pip, Cam receded from the limelight. At the beginning, it felt like Cam and Morgan's relationship was a little too perfect, but at the same time Cam wasn't quite as fleshed out as I would have liked him to be. Once he acknowledges that he's a fairy and starts undergoing training, I was hoping that he would be a more rounded character, but that didn't happen. And even though Cam's love for Morgan was evident from the start, I never quite liked him as much as Pip, who I liked pretty much right away, in all his glorious awkwardness.

The ending, on my the ending! It was an interesting mix of sad and happy because you realize what Morgan has lost, but she seems to be happy with her life the way it is. I know that's a very vague way of describing it, but I don't want to give anything away here. It was the ending I was partly expecting since about halfway through the book, but it didn't make it any easier to read.

I really liked Fairy Tale for its take in fairy mythology and recommend it to readers who might be a little nervous about jumping into a book about fairies.

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